Why We Fight
by TheShadeOps
Summary: Hell hath no fury than a man fighting to defend his home. Especially if that man is an operator with the 141. - Shade Fic - Mild to moderate language and themes.
1. Choices

**TSO here with the 0th chapter for a new Shade story. 'Tis a prologue, so it'll be shortish. Also going to write this one in FPV. Actually is easier for me, especially after writing a bit "Command and Control" (AC5 fic).**

**If you seriously think that I own anything related to Call of Duty, you need help. I DO own my respective characters however. (Not going to C&P this every chapter btw.)**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**Prologue – Choices**

They say that a single choice can change the outcome of anything, from something as simple to fixing a remote to something as complex as leading a nation. And the choice itself could be anything. You could choose to make a right turn instead of a left. Vote yes instead of no. Take the stairs or use the lift. Usually, the most insignificant choices have the biggest repercussions. And it's those insignificant ones that can mean the difference between life and death.

"Chemo, Bravo Six. Status?"

"Soap, we're pinned down at the southern entrance to the basement. It's a stalemate here, we can't get to the target."

"Rook?"

"Ground and first floors of the corridors are clear. TAG is evacuating civilians through the entrance."

"Scarecrow?"

"We've broken through the resistance in the administration area, moving to secure surveillance now. Give us five mikes."

"Shade?"

"Anyone know where Shade is? I've lost comms."

"Roach here. Shade got a vis on the target running for the eastern stairwell leading to the car park. I've lost them however. Wait, stand by. I hear something."

"What is it?"

I just hope I made the right one.

"It's his radio."

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**Should be a dramatic music cue here. Review and such.**


	2. Cause

**TSO here with the first chapter for Why We Fight. I don't have much to say here, so enjoy. Btw, POV will be easy to follow early on. I only hope to follow maybe 2-3 main characters and 1-2 secondary POVs.**

**Enjoy. To add to the disclaimer, any events that occur within this plot are a pure figment of my imagination (with inspiration from MW3). All events that have resemblance to real world events are purely a coincidence.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

_Gallipoli Army Barracks, Enoggera, Brisbane, Australia._

_[LCPL Shelby Watson]_

"Hey, Lance Corporal, could you swing by the mess in a few minutes to help us unload the delivery of food supplies?" The voice of the Sergeant in charge of the Gallipoli Mess drew me from the files I was reading as I was walking towards my regiment's HQ. I had kept in touch with one of the soldiers that had saved me a few months ago. Every few weeks, a letter from him would arrive in my mail, a return envelope enclosed with postage paid. He wouldn't talk about most of his work, but would let me into the happenings regarding some of the others I met that day.

"No worries Sergeant. I've just got to check back in with my CO and finish some paperwork off then I'll be over." Things hadn't changed since the 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, returned from the Middle East. Matter of fact, we were scheduled to head south for a mass-force training exercise with jets from Williamtown and East Sale. Hence the paperwork I had to fill out. The 20th STAR operated recon drones and other surveillance equipment to assist the artillery gunners find their targets and hit them. But our drones also came in handy for other units, infantry, armour, SF, anyone who needs an extra set of eyes in the sky.

I pushed the door open to our HQ building, instantly greeted by the heated air inside. I stepped to the side to take my jumper off, winter in Brisbane can be surprisingly cold sometimes.

"Ah, welcome back Watson. I take it lunch was nice?" Oh great. He's here. Don't get me wrong, Corporal Day is a good person, a good soldier, but ever since he got passed over for Commando Selection he's become more and more disenchanted with the idea of serving. "What is the Mess serving anyway?"

"Well, Corporal, I actually headed out to check some hiking gear I ordered over at Anaconda. There's this one pack I'm eager to get, just had to order an olive drab colour since they don't have it in stock. And I got a couple of sausages from the sizzle that the cadets are holding down there. So, lunch was good. Speaking of which, can you give these to the boss?" I passed him the brown envelope containing a few requisition orders, a signed copy of my updated psychological report, and a copy of Contact Magazine. "I'd do it myself but the Sergeant at the mess roped me into helping unload a stock delivery for him." I slipped my jumper back on and left the warm entrance foyer, hoping to get to the mess in the fastest yet safest time possible to limit my exposure to the cold.

As I walked by, I saw a small commotion developing by the main entrance. Looked like one of the delivery trucks were late again, the driver was out of his cabin and waving papers around whilst the civilian guards and an MP were telling him to calm down. I turned my back to the commotion, and that's when it happened.

* * *

_Queensland University of Technology, Gardens Point (CBD), Brisbane, Australia._

_[Jessica Williams]_

I sat one of the picnic tables outside of the QUT Library, my laptop, textbook and notepad open. Damn, the content in this course was already ramping up and it wasn't even the middle of the year yet. I still couldn't grasp the concept of how the hell I would be able to create a service mashup between Amazon, Australia Post, PayPal and the banks to allow the user to shop online, ensure they have the funds to make a purchase, transfer across if there are insufficient funds, and track the purchase, all in one web-based service. All of this as a second year assignment. Then again, it was better than those scenario-based assignments I got last year.

"Hey Jess, we're going to the Queen Street Mall for some shopping. Wanna come?" Rachel, my bestie, sat down beside me, just in time to prevent me from tearing my hair out. "You really need to take a break from this mashup. It's not good for your health if you don't relax a bit."

"Well, if you can tell me how to get the required APIs and then allow the user to switch between each service without losing the pre-established link, then I'm all ears."

"I honestly don't know what you just said. You gotta remember, I'm taking Law, not IT. Now, if this was to track down crimes and cases in relation to time and location, as well as response times, then I'm your girl. But now is the time to get some shopping done. Myer is having a sale, it's virtually a steal right now. You might be able to get that dress you've always wanted." I had to hand it to her, she knew me well.

"Fine," I said with a sigh. "I'll catch up with you in a bit. Just need to finish this section of my process tree for the tracking portion of the service."

"Love ya babe. Just don't get too hung up on it." Rachel ran off to catch up with our friends. She had been my friend in high school, and when we found out that we had both been accepted to QUT, we screamed. We shrieked when we worked out that most of our lectures were on at the same times, meaning we could travel and study together before and after classes. Granted, we took different subjects, but there was some common ground.

I was about to get up and leave when the ground below me suddenly shook violently. Then the huge cloud of smoke and dust erupted from the access road down below. The shockwave and boom trailed very shortly after. I looked towards the S building, and saw the burning wreck of a car parked by the main fire exit of the building. There were people spread around on the ground, not moving at all.

I ran, but I began to feel faint. Staggering, I made it to one of the benches near the student support building before the world around me turned black.

* * *

_Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley, Amberley, Queensland._

"Rhino 12 to Amberley tower. On approach to Runway 01, making turn into final now." I couldn't wait to get out of this jet. I mean, it isn't cramped at all, and there aren't many jobs that pay you to sit on your ass for up to seven or eight hours at a time, but it gets boring and sore after a while. The second I get out of this jet, I'm making a beeline for the mess and then the pool. I don't care if the weather reports say it's our coldest winter yet, I'm going for a swim.

"This is Amberley Central. All Defence aircraft change to tactical air control frequency and stand by." Hmm, must be a drill. "I repeat, all airborne Defence aircraft change to tactical air control frequency, no duff." Wait, did she just say 'no duff'? I tuned the radio to a pre-programmed channel used for exercises and deployments.

"This is Rhino 12, F/A-18F from 1SQN, Amberley Base, checking into the Tac Channel. Requesting situation report."

"Rhino 12, authenticate Mike, protocol Sierra." I looked to the code list on my kneeboard, and instantly found the response.

"I authenticate Charlie."

"Rhino 12, there have been a series of explosions along the eastern coast in major population areas. Gallipoli has also been hit. At this time, all Defence assets are at status Delta, these explosions are more than likely a part of a massive terrorist attack on the Australian public. Rhino 12, stand by for orders."

I pulled up my gear and flaps, exiting the landing pattern and climbing into a medium orbit above the airbase. As I banked, I could make out more Super Hornets taxing out of the hanger spaces, all of them loaded to the teeth with weapons and fuel.

"Central, Rhino 12. For your information, I'm sitting at roughly fifteen minutes from bingo at my current state. Also completely unarmed except for a thousand rounds in my Vulcan, I'm virtually useless up here."

"Rhino 12, maintain station. We will be scrambling four aircraft at a time, after the first four are up you will be cleared to land. Until then, maintain max conserve, over."

"Wilco, 12 out." The first pair of Super Hornets were making their way to the end of Runway 01 now, they were hauling ass from the hangar spaces to the take off zone in order to get into the air. The first aircraft, number 103, took off first, followed by 115. I checked my fuel, five minutes remaining before I dipped into my reserves. 100 and 101 lined up on the runway and punched the throttles. They didn't make it halfway before the tower called me again.

"Rhino 12, Tower. Cleared immediate landing on 01, taxi to the ARP for immediate refuelling and rearmament."

"Copy, on final now." I focused on landing my aircraft, getting her down in one piece. Stress is not conducive to a safe landing and healthy life.

"Rhino Main, Central. We've got a single aircraft, headed towards the base at a low altitude. Suggest you intercept and divert them ASAP, break. All Defence aircraft, a No-fly-zone has been established extending fifteen kilometres out and as high as ten-thousand feet AGL. All fighters are reminded to verify contacts before engaging."

I touched down and made my way to the replenishment point as more fighters took off using the second runway. Bushmasters and Land Rovers were driving around, soldiers and guards running in full body armour with fully loaded rifles. Hell, even the ground crew were carrying Browning Hi-Powers in their holsters, a sight never seen outside of a deployment.

"Rhino Main, aircraft is not responding to hails. Wait, he's climbing. Central, aircraft has no markings, windows are tinted, appears to be a small canister attached to the fuselage. Looks like this might be a threat, requesting clearance to engage."

"Main, this is Central. Divert with force, do not engage directly. If they get within five kilometres, then shoot them down." I had to get back in the air, who knows who or what could be out there. I looked outside to the ground crew chief to get an idea of how long it was going to take. He held up five fingers on his left hand and punched his right hand once. Five minutes, arming weapons.

"Rhino Main to central. Splash one aircraft, he got caught in my wash. Wreck spotted in a clearing, can make out a greenish tinted smoke. Might want to call Canberra and Holsworthy quickly."

* * *

_Task Force Headquarters, undisclosed location in the central United States._

_[Shade]_

That was one of the more confusing information briefs I've had to sit through. Apparently the CIA and DIO don't speak the same language, and their reports became more and more conflicting the more we read into the data. The one thing they both agreed on was that some sleeper terror cell was showing signs of activity in the Oceania region, originating from South East Asia.

I fell into my bed, then realised I was forgetting to get my latest news fix on CNN. I sat up and reached for my laptop sitting on my bedside table. Opening it, I saw that I had left my browser open on CNN already, but the stories were days and days out of date. Probably from my news fix before deployment. Yawning, I clicked refresh, waiting for the page to reload. But it didn't. The browser couldn't connect due to extreme traffic to the site. Must been that time of night.

I walked over to the rec room to get a drink, and noticed nobody was using the TV.

"No-one minds if I just check the news?"

"Go for it mate, I actually need to check the stock market after you're done." Scarecrow called from the kitchen. We all just stopped and stared at him. "What? Not my fault for having a secure financial plan for when I retire from the Task Force, either out of age or injury." I grabbed the remote whilst midway taking a mouthful of water. Flipping it on, I quickly navigated to the CNN channel. What I saw made me lose grip on my glass. The smash drew attention again from the back.

"Shade, what happ-" Royce didn't finish his sentence as he saw the look on my face and the headlines on the TV screen. _Multiple explosions in Queensland, Australia. Numerous locations hit: RAAFB Amberley, Gallipoli Barracks, Gardens Point QUT, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Mater Hospital, Roma Street and Central Stations, Queen Street Mall among the blast zones._ I swear for a second that time had stopped. The images of smoke rising from within the city and along the outskirts burned into my mind. A partial list of locations appeared on the screen, including police stations, fire stations, a few hospitals, QUT at Gardens Point, Amberley, Enoggera, the main train stations and the Brisbane International and Domestic terminals.

Only one thing was clear in my mind. Are my family okay?

* * *

**As always, review with what you thought/what you'd might like to see. Until next time.**


	3. Effect

**Nothing much I can think of to say here. Thanks to my reviewers, followers, and those who favourite this story. Also thanks to those who follow me in general, for all my stories. You guys keep me going.**

**Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

_RAAFB Amberley, Amberley, Queensland, 15 hours later.._

_[Shade]_

The light flooded the hold of the C-17 as the ramp lowered to unload the container filled with our equipment. Everyone grabbed their packs and made their way to the passenger exit, finally able to get out of the uncomfortable but large cargo hold. As I stepped onto the tarmac, I took a moment to survey the scene. Not even a day ago, a pair of light aircraft had attempted to strike the base with their deadly payloads. One aircraft was show down to the north, but a second slipped by and crashed into the fuel stores of the base. Aircraft that needed fuel now had to wait for the tankers to fly from Amberley to either RAAF Bases Townsville or Williamstown and fly back with fuel from those bases. Whoever planned these attacks knew where to hit in order to affect response measures.

During the intel brief on the flight over, we got a closer look at where the bombers had targeted. The bigger blasts were at Central and Roma Street stations, as well as Queen Street Mall, South Bank and Gardens Point QUT. The main goals of the blasts there were to inflict casualties. Next they hit Amberley and Enoggera, to weaken the military and their response. Fuel stores were hit in the air base, whilst the motor pool, armoury and main gate were hit at the Barracks. The Army had to resort to using a fire entrance and exit to get their vehicles out. This slowed them down greatly. Lastly, much smaller bombs had hit the ER's of both the Royal Brisbane and Mater hospitals, to affect the treatment of those injured in the main blasts. A few other places were targeted with no clear motive except to cause more chaos and disrupt the lives of innocent people.

We were going to base out of a school in the northern suburbs, a half an hour drive to the CBD. I just didn't know where exactly, we hadn't been told that exactly.

"So, you think the kids will get a kick out of seeing highly trained badass soldiers roll into town?" Meat asked me.

"If anything, we'll probably do more psychological damage than this terror attack will ever do. Seeing strangers with no uniforms and gear that is designed to kill will scare them." I replied, already angry at the mess that had been created by these attacks.

"Sorry man, just trying to lighten the mood. Keep morale up, you know?"

"How about you just shut up for now and focus on what's yet to come." I walked off ahead, looking for the CO. I found him talking to someone in DPCU over by the passenger waiting area of the tarmac, by the looks of it he was talking to a higher ranking officer. I followed the others to where our cargo container had been parked, and proceeded to open it with Roach.

"Hey, Shade." Roach spoke up, sounding like a young boy asking a girl he liked out on a date. "You okay?"

"Yeah Roach. I'm fine."

"Tom, seriously. We haven't even unpacked our bags and already you've got me worried."

"Well, think about it Gary. What if your hometown was bombed completely without warning? Would you be feeling like nothing has happened?" I gave him a few seconds to think about this. "I thought not. Look, I'm worried like hell to be honest. And despite having access to all kinds of info and news, I don't know the things that I need to know." I leant back against the interior of the container. "I don't know if my family and friends are safe. For all I know, they could be safe at home, or.."

"Don't say that Tom. Don't even think that. You're right, you don't know. But the worst thing you can do is think that something bad happened to them. Keeping that thought in your head will not be good for you, especially now." He was right. These kinds of things can lower the morale of a soldier, leading them to become less combat-effective.

"Shade, Roach, we're moving to our staging point now. Lock the container up and head over to the vehicles. Details will become available while en-route." Scarecrow walked off as Roach and I did as instructed. Hopefully this will all be over.

* * *

_QUT Gardens Point, Brisbane CBD, Australia, 15 hours earlier._

_[Jessica]_

I woke up to the sounds of screaming and cries for help, as well as sirens and alarms close by. I slowly reached up for something to brace against, and found the bench I had fallen next to earlier. When I tried to stand, my knees gave way and I fell back down to the ground. I crawled closer to the wall so I could prop myself up against it. One thing rang clear in my head, something bad had happened. I felt around in my pockets for my phone, and pulled it out. But when I looked at the screen, I saw that I had no reception. I put it back and contemplated what to do next when I heard a group of footsteps approaching.

"Hey, over here!" I called, realising how shaky my voice was. I half sounded like I was crying, which given the current situation, would be understandable. I could make out the footsteps stopping, then picking up in pace and closing in distance. Within seconds, a group of four rounded the corner of the building and stopped.

"Whoever called out, call out again." I called again, this time trying to raise an arm. I stopped halfway because a jolt of pain shot through my arm. They saw me regardless and ran towards me. I recognised their uniforms and knew instantly that they were paramedics, probably first responders or instructors in the campus.

"Ok, what's your name?"

"Jessica, Jessica Williams."

"Where are you Jess?"

"I'm at Uni, in the city."

"What campus and where is it exactly?"

"QUT at Gardens Point." I answered these questions as calmly as I could. The paramedic that was asking me was trying to see how responsive I was, as a method to determine if I had suffered any mental injuries. I remember my friend Jason telling me this after he began his training with the ambos. One of the first things they would do with a patient in my state would ask a series of short and simple questions.

"Ok Jess. Do you remember what happened?"

"Well, I was sitting at a bench when something exploded over at S Block. I ran over here to get away when I felt faint and fell here. I can't remember anything else after that."

"When did you come around?"

"Only a few minutes ago, I think." My head started to feel light, and I felt something coming up. I turned to the side and threw up over some of the plants, nearly hitting the paramedic beside me. I heard the medics begin to pick up the pace, but blacked out shortly after. I don't know how long it was, but I woke to the sound of an engine and various beeps and buzzes. Taking a quick look around, I realised that I was in the back of an ambulance, on the way to hospital.

"Hey, she's awake. Slow it down a bit." The paramedic looked down at me. "How are you feeling now?"

"Dazed, confused, and still sore, but otherwise ok. What happened to me?"

"You threw up and passed out. You're suffering a concussion as well as mild shock. No real physical injuries apart from a bruised head and some scrapes on the arms and legs. Lucky for someone close to a bomb blast."

"So, it was a bomb?"

"Trademark car bomb. Blast knocked out part of the lower building, sent debris everywhere as well as a loud shockwave. That's probably what made you feel feint, the shock of the blast. You were lucky, like I said. The brunt of the force was channelled within the road below S and Z blocks, as well as the loading access road leading from S and Z up to the library and that other building. I can't remember what it was called though. If you were caught in that shockwave, chances are that you would not have survived."

"Thanks for telling me that." I felt the vehicle slow down, and the paramedic looked towards the driver with a frustrated look on his face. "Hey, why are we stopping?"

"Police roadblock ahead. Looks like SERT have set up a cordon, bunch of guys in black gear with rifles and shit. No markings on the cars either."

"Well, tell them we've got a critical patient on board and we need to keep moving."

"Ok Steve." I felt us stop, and heard the driver's window lower. "Officer, we've got a-" He was cut short when a gunshot rang out. The paramedic with me shouted out, and the doors in the back flew open. Two men with rifles rushed around and shot the medic twice each. His body slumped forward and fell onto me.

"We've got a girl in the back here!" One of the men stepped inside and pulled the body off of me. I had my eyes shut as soon as I heard the first shot fire, in an effort to play off as unconscious. The man shook me around, and I instinctively opened my eyes. He saw this and drew his sidearm at me. "Don't move a bit!" I had no idea what else to do, so I just stayed absolutely still. A voice yelled from outside.

"Is everything under control back there?"

"Victor found a girl in the back. She's awake."

"How is she looking?"

"Hot, I guess." I blushed a bit, they obviously didn't care that I might be listening.

"No you idiot. She's in the back of an ambulance for a reason, how is she appearing?"

"She's got a bandaged head, an IV line in her arm, and a few bandages on her arms and legs. I think she's a survivor from one of the blasts boss." Well, he knew his stuff, that's for sure.

"Transfer her to our vehicles. Whatever you do, be gentle. We'll get the doc back at Roulette take a look at her and make sure she's not going to die on us out of the blue." The man beside me holstered his weapon and pulled out a pair of cable ties. I figured I might as well comply and make it easier on me, and held out my wrists to be cuffed. He instead held out his hand and helped me sit up. Then he cuffed me and led me to one of their vehicles.

After they placed a hood over my head, we all sped away from the bridge. I lent my head against the headrest and tried to get some kind of rest. As I relaxed, I started to listen in on their conversation.

"So, how long do you think until they scramble the TAG?" One of the voices said. He had a thick accent, but it didn't sound foreign.

"They're probably on their way here in their Blackhawks or Hercules as we speak. Thankfully, we've planned for that measure and taken the necessary precautions." A deeper voice replied. I could make out a slight South African accent, but I wasn't sure.

"Yeah, whoever suggested as taking the look of a SERT team is a genius. I mean, they're probably the easiest for us to impersonate without having questions asked. All we needed were the weapons, cars, uniforms, and badges. Simple!" This guy was Australian. I knew that for sure.

"Don't get arrogant. You forget to realise that the hospital or receiving point of that ambulance was probably in contact with the crew. And when they fail to check in, the alarm will be raised."

"But you've already taken that into account, I guess?"

"Of course. Hey, make the turn up here, we're almost there."

* * *

_Gallipoli Army Barracks, Enoggera, Brisbane, Australia, that same time._

_[Shelby]_

I felt my heard drop the second I heard that truck detonate. Instinctively, I ran back towards my HQ then split towards the armoury. It isn't uncommon for there to be a follow up bomb or a strike unit after the first blast. And chances are that we'll need every person on base to mount an effective defence. As I got sight on the armoury, I noticed that the main gates were wide open and MPs were handing out Steyrs, shotguns, anything they could get their hands on. Another MP had laid out a pile of webbing rigs loaded with ammo. I grabbed the first one I found, checked the pouches to see what I would need to carry as a weapon, and then made for the MP with the Steyrs.

I heard another blast, and for a split second everyone froze with their heads turned towards the blast. Then it went into overdrive. The MPs just ditched the armoury and ran directly to the blast site, which was the motor pool. I grabbed another web rig and a shotgun, slung them over my own rig and made my way back to my unit HQ. I was about to open the door when I heard one word.

"Skippy!" It was a challenge call. If I failed to answer or answered incorrectly, I would get shot. "Skippy!" The voice called out again.

"Kangaroo!" I yelled back.

"Ok, come in slowly!" I complied and stepped in to find Corporal Day standing at the corner of the left hallway with his service sidearm aimed directly at me. When he saw who I was, he lowered it with a relaxed breath. "Watson, what the hell happened? I heard a blast, the alarms went off and PA recordings informing up of a Code 1 started playing. Then a second blast rang out before you arrived."

"First blast was a VB-IED at the main gate. I think the second one is the same, it took out the motor pool from the looks of it." The entire room shook as a third explosion detonated close by. I stepped back towards the door and saw the giant plume of smoke and flames engulfing the armoury. "That one just hit our weapons store. So we have no security, our vehicles are hit, and now we can't get more weapons and ammo. Glad I grabbed this for you then." I handed the webbing and shotgun over to Day, who began to load it. "By the way, do you know where the CO is?"

"I went to give him that stuff you gave me, but a note on his office said that he was over at the motor pool..." His voice trailed off at the realisation of what he just said. "Oh fuck. XO's on annual leave in WA, most of the officers are at Canberra for a briefing about some new thing the Artillery is getting. Looks like it's just us two and whoever is left on base."

I checked the chamber of my Steyr, something I had forgotten to do in my haste for running for my life. Fortunately a round hadn't been loaded. I cycled the charging handle and lifted the rifle to my shoulder, holding it at a low-ready posture. "I guess we'll need to regroup with the others then. Lets go."

* * *

_Enroute to South Brisbane, TF141 - Detachment Bravo_

_ [Shade]_

We hadn't arrived at our staging point for half an hour before we were called to our first mission. A SERT team had come across an ambulance stranded on the William Jolly Bridge during a sweep of the outer CBD. They found the paramedics dead, but there were signs that they had been treating a patient when they were ambushed. It didn't look good, and whoever had made the attack was smart. There were no tire marks indicating a speedy getaway by the ambushers, they policed the casings from their weapons, and the wound patterns indicated that they were using the same weapons that the authorities would be using.

But we weren't interested in the forensics of the scene. We were just focused on tracking them down, killing them, and rescuing that patient.

"Hey, Shade. What weapons do the cops here use?" Roach asked from the front seat of the Pajero 4x4 we were given.

"Glocks mostly, but SERT and specialist units are known to have access to M4s, MP5s and other typical tactical weapons. Makes tracking them a bitch, because everyone uses them."

Rook piped up. "But that also means that all those officers will have to report when they fire those weapons. If a shooting is reported, but officers fail to check in, it'll narrow it down."

"But you also gotta factor that most police shootings are reported usually fifteen minutes after the scene is secure. And those fifteen minutes are all that are needed to allow for a clean escape. These aren't bank robbers or crazed gunmen we are facing."

Neon, who was attached to our squad, interjected. "Hey guys. If you were the team that attacked the ambos, where would you go?"

"I'd head away from the scene in a way that would get me away from being caught." I said, growing annoyed.

"On that bridge, there were only two ways the attackers could go. Think about what is at each end." I actually thought about this for a second, before I turned to face him.

"Ok, Neon. The ambulance was headed south. Now, if I headed the same direction, I would risk being picked up by authorities that have established a curtain around the area. But I would also get caught in the traffic generated by the fleeing civilians from the same area."

"Right."

"If I headed north, I risked immediate capture by on-scene authorities, but then I would be able to wait out until the scenes are relatively secure, plus I can take shelter in any structure that has already been evacuated, searched, and cleared."

"Right."

"Either way I go, I face capture. But the northern route allows me to hide." It hit me. "Rook, turn the car around! We're heading back for the CBD."

* * *

**Ok, now I remembered. I'll be away from the 31st Dec 13 to around the 19th Jan 14. CSNCO Promotion Course for Cadets. I'll be out of contact for a while. Take care! TSO out.**

**g**


End file.
